Description

The obverse shows the coat of arms of Mongolia’s national bank; below, the inscription 1000 Togrog in Cyrillic, and MONGOLIA 1 oz .999 SILVER in Latin script.

The reverse features a frontal portrait of Che Guevara with the characteristic beret and red star, in the right field CHE GUEVARA in Latin and Mongolian script, in the lower field 2018.

Story

Following Chinggis Khaan and Fidel Castro, CIT has dedicated the third issue in its “Iconic Revolutionaries” series to Che Guevara, whose face became an icon of the Protests of 1968 thanks to Alberto Korda’s portrait.

Mongolia’s new coin doesn’t show this well-known image but another, similar portrait instead. It makes the Marxist revolutionary look younger and more humane: It’s not the Guerillero Heroico, whom the media turned into an icon, but a considerate politician trying to convince his opponent with impassioned speeches.

The incredible true-to- life effect of the portrait is achieved by combining smartminting technology with sparse selective coloring in black and white. The extremely high relief appears even more plastic due to the restrained colour application. The depiction has the appeal of a threedimensional rendition of a black-and-white photo.

The coin is a technical marvel: Color application on high relief has only recently been made possible thanks to the latest technology. The mint B. H. Mayer in Munich has perfected its technique for this series.

A gold coin at 0.5 g, with a diameter of 13.92 and an identical motif was also issued.